


Note on Blaine's depression and "Cough Syrup"

by CyanoFal



Category: Glee
Genre: Archived from cyanoticfallacy blog, Cough Syrup, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Meta, Meta Essay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 23:36:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16922535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyanoFal/pseuds/CyanoFal
Summary: A meta response to yougottaletitout's brief thoughts on Glee's performance of "Cough Syrup" in relationship to Karofsky and Blaine's storylines. - Originally Posted on March 17, 2017 on cyanoticfallacy blog.





	Note on Blaine's depression and "Cough Syrup"

Anon asked: Any thoughts on Cough Syrup? I love the song, but it always felt like a bit of a strange choice for the scene it was intercut with.

yougottaletitout: "[...] This is the thing about cough syrup: You take it, and then you hopefully feel better.

The other thing about cough syrup: You take it too much, and you can actually have a fatal overdose on this."

~

If you look at Blaine’s perspective, he’s having a pretty rough time at McKinley. He transfers there to be with Kurt but they have to hide their relationship in the halls. He tries to take initiative singing in glee club and has everyone start tearing him down for hogging the spotlight. Finn completely ignores his talent out of jealousy so Blaine’s contributions to club are doubly ignored. He makes a new gay friend at Dalton and that guy tries to break up his and Kurt’s relationship to the point of throwing a rock salt slushie in his face so he needs eye surgery. The Troubletones say they don’t want Blaine to take all the solos so they leave to form their own club, so Blaine feels guilty for that. Then Sebastian tells everyone that Blaine told them New Directions’s setlist so he feels guilty for that too. And on top of all this, Blaine knows Kurt is going to be graduating and going to college far away from him and he’s worried about being left behind and doesn’t know how to deal with that.

So things are really hard, but he’s waiting for it to get better. He’s trying to hold on to something that might make it better while Karofsky doesn’t have any kind of support system for dealing with his hardships so he can’t hold on any more.

And then to make it maximum sad, things kind of keep getting worse for Blaine as some of his biggest fears start to come true in season 4 which develops into his depression arc culminating in him almost leaving New D and distancing himself from his support. It goes from him holding on and trying new things to keep going to him barely breathing, to him feeling “hopelessly” devoted to his boyfriend and his old life, singing beauty school drop out alluding to his desire to drop out of McKinley, to singing about his dark side until Sam pulls him out of the spiral by reminding him of the good things he can do in Heroes and finding community with others in the club in Some Nights.


End file.
